Linux 5.4 Set To Remove Intel XScale IOP33X/IOP13XX CPU Support

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux 5.4 Set To Remove Intel XScale IOP33X/IOP13XX CPU Support

Linux 5.4 is set to remove the Intel IOP33X and IOP13XX series of processors that are part of the company's former XScale product line for ARM-based CPUs...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Linux-5.4-Dropping-Intel-IOP-3

[edwaleni]

I remember some of those US Robotics home routers (Model 8054) from around 2001-2003 used those Intel XScale CPU's with Linux. Also Cisco/Linksys had some dual-WAN models as well (RV082) that used the same.

I stopped using both way back when as they both got hacked. Someone got into the 8054 management interface via the WAN port and kept trying to change the settings. The Cisco/Linksys got bricked when someone exposed the firmware update interface on the WAN port and tried to push a custom image.

While neither action had anything to do with XScale specifically, it is odd that 2 XScale based devices I had both got hacked.

[timofonic]

Is Intel ashamed of their ARM past? Or can they still back to ARM again? X86 sucks...

[yurikoles]

Is Intel ashamed of their ARM past? Or can they still back to ARM again? X86 sucks...

Maybe when Apple will finally ship ARM64-based Mac this will push all PC market to switch to it?

[M@GOid]

Maybe when Apple will finally ship ARM64-based Mac this will push all PC market to switch to it?

Courage

[SystemCrasher]

Is Intel ashamed of their ARM past? Or can they still back to ARM again? X86 sucks...

When AMD got very decent Athlons while P4 sucked, Intel got pressed enough and sold their ARM division and its assets to Marvell. Who still manufactures, or at least manufactured some further developed offsprings of these, eventually found in some routers and NAS devices. Later they apparently thought they can cripple their x86 rather than license ARM cores again. Though it seems it never worked this way and so Intel's hilarious "Tablet PC" never become a real thing. Sure, there're few tablets and even smartphones boasting Atom. However, their power consumption is prohibitive, and whatever intel mumbles, huge charger and/or awful recharge&run times speak for itself. And overall system complexity in small package makes whole thing rather troublesome, to make it more fun.

So I guess it isn't about shame but about belief into own IP to extent it hurts and reluctance to license better cpu cores, even if they fit task much better than their own. But it isn't 1st FAIL. Look, intel been pushing P4 as "future" but eventually had to roll back to PIII-like approach and restart development from that point. It took Athlons beating P4 to dust though. I wonder if groving mobile markets can apply comparable pressure on Intel though.

p.s. as for "hacked devices" and so on - has anyone actually ever seen "IOP" (I/O Processor) in the wild? I just can't readily name any device using mentioned IOP things. Were they ever released, running Linux, at all? There're some "adjacent" things like later Marvell CPUs, but these are different things and it seems they are still supported and have some alive users.

[Ardje]

Hmmm, does that mean I have to start maintaining parts? My intel SS4400E still works and does production work (backups).